Container



Feb.16, 1943. .1. A. sTEwAR-r 2,311,001.

Filed Feb. 24, 1939 I QIINVENTOR. I BY 3 0,52 I

., ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 16, 1943 CONTAINER James A. Stewart, Scarsdale, N. Y., assignor to American Can Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application February 24, 1939, Serial No. 258,327

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to containers or cans and has particular reference to an end seam which secures the can end closure to its body and which is readily severable to remove the closure from the body to open the can.

An object of the invention is the provision of a can end seam produced by an interfolding of flange parts formed on a can body and on its end closure wherein the end closure flange is formed with a bead which, when the closure flange is interfolded with the body flange, projects outwardly beyond the seam and thus provides a. guiding element for a cutting tool so that the closure may be severed adjacent the bead and the severed closure part readily removed from the body and from the seam when it is desired to open the can.

Another object is the provision of such a can end seam wherein the guiding bead on the closure flange is located at the top edge of the seam so that it will not interfere with the tightness of the seam.

Another object is the provision of a can end seam of this character wherein the guiding bead sets off a peripheral depression or cutting section adjacent the bead to receive the cutting edge of an opening tool adapted to sever the closure flange so that the severed closure part may be readily removed from the body in opening the can.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a can embodying the instant invention;

Fig 2 is an enlarged section of the upper portion of the can including the end scam, the view being taken substantially along the line 2-2 in Fig. 1, parts being broken away;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of the upper portion of the can illustrated in Fig. 1, the view also showing a conventional can opener in place on the can end seam; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view similar to Fig. 2 and showing the can opener blade in place and in the operation of severing the end closure from the can body at the end seam when opening the can.

As a preferred embodiment of the invention the drawing illustrates a conventional can ineluding a tubular body ll formed with a side wall I2 and having a bottom closure 13 secured thereto in a suitable seam I4. The upper end of the can is closed, after filling, with a top closure l5 which is secured to the upper marginal edge of the body. For this purpose the top or upper marginal edge of the body side wall is preferably outwardly flared and provided with a flange which is bent outwardly and downwardly in a seam flange hook [5 (Fig. 2),

The top closure I5 is preferably formed with a countersunk panel 2| which merges into an upright or substantially vertical surrounding wall section 22 which is also outwardly flared to closely engage the corresponding outwardly flared upper or outer portion of the can body side wall l2. At its upper edge the upright wall section merges into a flange part 23 which carries a deposit of sealing compound 24.

When the top closure is in place on the can body its countersunk panel fits down within the mouth or open end of the body and its upright wall section 22 engages tightly against the inner surface of the body side wall [2. To hold the closure in place on the body the closure flange 23 and the body flange hook it are interfolded and interlocked as in a conventional double seam.

In the double seam of the present invention, however, the closure flange 23 extends over the body flange hook l6 and projects outwardly beyond the hook where it is bent downwardly and inwardly to provide a projecting flange bead 25 as shown in Fig. 2. The lower edge of the bead merges into a sharply curved wall section 25 of the cover flange which sets off a slight peripheral recess or depression 21 in the seam. This curved section merges into a depending wall part 28 of the flange which extends down along the outer surface of the body flange hook l6 and in tight engagement therewith and then curves upwardly into a terminal wall section 29 of the flange which is disposed inside the body hook section It, as a regular double seam.

Thus the closure flange 23 is interfolded and tightly interlocked with the body flange hook 16 with the compound 24 disposed between the flange folds and this provides a tight hermetic double seam 3|. The bead 25 formed on the closure flange 23 is located at the top outer edge of the seam where it projects beyond the side of the seam leaving a small space 32 in the seam which is filled with the compound. It is this bead which is used as a guide for an opening device or cutter adapted to sever the closure l5 from the body H in opening the can.

The cutter is received in the peripheral depression 21 and when properly applied and run around the outside of the cam seam it cuts through the closure flange along the depression line and simultaneously pushes the severed lower edge (marked 33 in Fig. 4) of the bead back into the seam space 32 so that the raw edge thus produced is embedded in the compound where it will be back out of the way and where it can inflict no injury. The severed closure part can thereafter be readily removed to gain access to the can contents.

The cutter for performing this severing operation forms no part of the instant invention, it being understood that there is now on the market several suitable opening devices which may be used for this purpose. However, the drawing illustrates one such opening device which includes a cutting Wheel 4| (Figs. 3 and 4) mounted on a support bar 42 opposite a driving wheel 43 having a serrated outer surface. The driving wheel seats against the upright wall section 22 of the can end (Fig. 3) and is manually rotated by a thumb or wing shaped handle or nut 44.

When the opening device is in place on the can for opening the latter, the driving wheel 43 engages the inside surface of the closure upright wall section 22 while the cutter is disposed in the peripheral depression 21 of the closure flange 23 as shown in Fig. 3. Rotation of the winged handle 44 causes the device to travel along the end seam and thus sever the closure from the body as described.

While the foregoing description refers to seaming on the top closure I5 after filling it will be obvious that the top closure may be first applied to the body H to produce a can without a bot tom. The can will then be inverted and filled through its open bottom end after which the bottom I4 is seamed onto the filled can.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

A sanitary sheet metal food container adapted to be opened by a rotary cutting tool without contacting the contents, comprising a container body having an end flange, an end closure also having a flange, said flanges being interlocked to produce an end seam for securing said end closure to said body, and a gasket sealing material interposed between said body and end flanges, said end seam comprising five closely contacting layers of metal, the innermost layer consisting of an inner body engaging Wall portion of said end closure flange, the outermost layer including a peripheral bead projecting outwardly beyond said end seam at its top edge to set off a peripheral depression beneath said bead in the outer flange section of said seam, said bead confining a gasket material between the inner and outer layers, said outwardly projecting portion of said closure flange providing a pinched rim of double thickness at the top of the seam enclosing and squeezing said gasket and defining an annular track for a rotary cutting tool to follow, said inner engaging wall portion extending downwardly below the said peripheral depression, whereby said end closure may be severed from the body as the cutter edge is guided by the depression and passed through said outermost cover flange wall to enter into the gasket confined between said pinched walls while the container contents are shielded from any out parts of the severed wall.

JAMES A. STEWART. 

